Hightstown Borough Council President Susan Bluth defeated challenger Michael Bolentine to become the borough’s next mayor in the November general election.
Bluth, who is a Democrat, received 912 votes. Ballentine, who was nominated by petition, received 522 votes. The Republican Party did not nominate a candidate for mayor.
The unofficial count includes ballots filed Nov. 8, as well as early voting, mail-in ballots and advance ballots, Mercer County Clerk Paula Solami Kovela said. This does not include recorded votes.
The results will not be official until Salami Kovela has certified them with the State Department’s Division of Elections, which is expected to happen by Nov. 26.
Bluth and Bolentin sought to replace Mayor Lawrence Quattrone, who decided not to run for re-election. He is a democrat.
Bluth acted as mayor for a few months while Quattrone took a leave of absence due to ill health.
“I would like to thank the residents for their support in electing me the next mayor of our wonderful neighborhood,” Bluth said.
“My goal as mayor is to bring long-standing projects to a close, such as the completion of our new town offices in the former YMCA building, and to move forward with renovating the carpet mill,” she said.
The former Hightstown Rug Mill property, bounded by Bank Street, North Academy Street and North Main Street, is slated for redevelopment. In 2020, a plan was approved for the multifunctional redevelopment of existing buildings on the territory and the construction of new buildings that will house rental apartments.
The former YMCA building at 230 Mercer St. is slated to become the new Hightstown neighborhood building. It will replace the former municipal building that was flooded by Hurricane Irene in 2011.
“I will also be vigorously exploring the hemp permit ordinance,” Bluth said.
In May 2021, the Hightstown Borough Council approved an ordinance banning the sale, packaging, distribution and cultivation of cannabis before the August 2021 deadline for the measure.
Hightstown officials later placed a public question on the Nov. 2, 2021 general election ballot asking whether the Hightstown mayor and borough council should pass an ordinance to allow the retail sale of cannabis products in the area.
The public question – to allow the retail sale of cannabis – was approved by a margin of 817 votes to 507 votes.
